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As 2024 draws to a close, cryptocurrency stands at a turning point. Bitcoin has crossed the $100,000 mark and digital assets have solidified their place in investment portfolios of all sizes. Yet, amid these milestones, a critical, yet overlooked issue remains: the estate planning challenges unique to cryptocurrency and other digital assets.A Looming Crisis: Estate Planning in a Digital EraUnlike traditional assets, cryptocurrencies and digital assets operate outside established estate planning frameworks. Their decentralized nature, reliance on private keys, and pseudonymity make them revolutionary. Butwithout proper planning, crypto holdings can be lost forever, become embroiled in legal disputes, or heavily taxed.This vulnerability is not hypothetical. Chainalysis reports that nearly 20% of all bitcoin is lost or stranded, much of it...

When Michael Saylor announced MicroStrategy's conversion of $250 million in Treasury reserves to bitcoin in August 2020, Wall Street analysts dismissed it as a reckless gamble. "Superior to cash," Saylor declared of bitcoin at the time, drawing skepticism from traditional banking circles.Yet today, those same banks that sneered at bitcoin's corporate adoption are now scrambling to participate in bitcoin-collateralized lending as they race to capitalize on its superior characteristics as institutional-grade collateral and a thriving product-market fit.Traditional collateral, such as real estate, requires manual appraisals, subjective valuations and complex legal frameworks that vary by jurisdiction. Bitcoin, by contrast, offers instant verification of collateral backing through public blockchain data, 24/7 real-time settlement and liquidation capabilities, uniform quality regardless of geography or...

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Marc Hochstein, CoinDesk's deputy editor-in-chief for features, opinion and standards.In this issue:Solana was the biggest draw for new crypto developers in 2024No wonder: Solana's transaction volume is off the chartsCoinbase alums take next step toward no-code blockchain developmentKraken’s 'Ink' layer-2 goes liveAvalanche activates biggest-ever upgradeEthereum's ENS picks Consensys' tech for its L2Bitcoin's Stacks L2 gets an automated market maker for RunesMost Influential 2024: EigenLayer's Sreeram KannanThis article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.Network NewsNEW DEVS ❤️SOLANA:...

No one can argue with 2024 being a breakthrough year for crypto. BTC and ETH ETFs launched, BlackRock spearheaded bitcoin adoption, a pro-crypto president was elected and BTC broke the 15-year all-time-high, to name a few. But the inflection point for crypto still awaits. Here are three predictions for 2025 that can help spark it:You're reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.1. DeFi is about to skyrocketDeFi is becoming more complex, much like traditional finance, in terms of its product suite. We’ve already seen this trend emerging with the adoption of products like Pendle, Ethena, EtherFi and Lombard. In...

Following the U.S. presidential election, crypto’s headwinds have seemingly dissipated. Since early November bitcoin has reached $100K amid regulatory wins such as the nomination of crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler as SEC chair, the naming of crypto advocate David Sacks as the incoming White House “AI and Crypto Czar,” and Congressman French Hill’s appointment to head the House Financial Services Committee. With election season coming to a crypto-favorable close in 2024, some are forecasting “altcoin” season, a period of outperformance for non-BTC crypto assets, to continue in 2025 — but is this the right way to characterize digital assets broadly?You're reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign...